The photo may be one of a group taken by Robert John Welch during the period from his first visit to Ballycastle in 1875 to around 1890 just before an iron stage pier was built from the pier yard out to Craig na Scarf which was opened in 1891. (This would appear on the right-hand part of the photo.)

Some of the features in the photo are as follows, reading from left to right, or south-west to north-east. On the green in front of the row of houses at the bottom of North Street, can be seen a group of fishermen's hut and walls on which they dried their nets.

Further across in the background is the Coastguard Station with it's tower. Below in the foreground is a section of the harbour wall built by Hugh Boyd in the mid-18th century, at the s.w. end can be seen fishermen's boats drawn up on the beach. To the n.w. at the edge of the sea, is the remains of Colonel Hugh Boyd's harbout pier, rebuilt in stone from 1756 onwards.

On top of the wall the small building is a salmon store. Coal, Salt, Wine Bottles, Tanned Leather and Linen, the product of new industries in Ballycastle fostered by Colonel Hugh Boyd, were exported from this harbour during the late 1700's. The white wall behind this encloses Humpries' coal yard where in 1898 the first Marconi wireless station in Ireland was based.

This was set up for Lloyd's of London, to communicate with a station on Rathlin, which reported the passage of ships. The small dark building to the n.e. is the old Kelp Store, and behind this is the coastgaurd watch-house, with the flag pole beyond. Next we have Port Brittas, the ancient port where the ships of the Viking invaders and Sorley Boy McDonnell landed.

To the n.e. of this can be seen the white wall of the first harbour yard next to the "Granny Rock". Behind this at the base of the cliffs, was built one of the earliest railways in Ireland, a wooden tram-road, built by Colonel Hugh Boyd in the late 1730's to bring stone to his harbour works. (The first railway in Ireland was built across the bay in 1721 at the collieries.)

I hope this information may be of use to you. If it would be possible for me to examine a good print of the photo I may be able to add further facts.

Sincerely, D.J.McGill, B.Sc, Straid Rd, Ballinlea, Ballycastle.